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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/29626206">A Lesson on Complementing</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/PimpedOutGreenEars/pseuds/PimpedOutGreenEars'>PimpedOutGreenEars</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Battle Royale (Manga), Battle Royale - All Media Types, Battle Royale - Takami Koushun</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>F/M, I'm tagging characters and ships all at once but some won't come until 2nd chapter, M/M, program never happened au</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>In-Progress</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2021-02-22</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2021-04-01</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-15 18:29:03</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Teen And Up Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>No Archive Warnings Apply</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>2</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>9,000</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/29626206</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/PimpedOutGreenEars/pseuds/PimpedOutGreenEars</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>“It’s a scientific fact that if Shinji isn’t complimented every 20 minutes, he’ll die.”</p>
<p>Yutaka makes the mistake of saying that Shinji can't go 20 minutes without being complimented. Shinji decides to make him learn a lesson. In the end, maybe they'll both learn something.</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Mimura Shinji/Seto Yutaka, one-side Yutaka/Izumi, slight Mitsuru/Izumi</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>13</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>1. Chapter 1</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>I've been working on this fic for an embarrassingly long time, and it's still not complete. But I'm hoping posting a chapter will encourage me to work faster. Let's hope so! </p>
<p>Let me know what you think!</p>
    </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Tuesday mornings were not special for the students of Shiroiwa Junior High. A Tuesday was just a Tuesday, and school was just school. So, it would come as no surprise that students had formed typical routines by late August.</p>
<p>For the neutral boys of Class B, that was definitely true.</p>
<p>Currently standing in the corner of the school-yard, where they did every morning, were Yutaka Seto, Shuya Nanahara, Yoshitoki Kuninobu, Hiroki Sugimura, and Keita Iijima. They were standing in a group as they watched their sixth member finish up his morning routine so that they could finish theirs.</p>
<p>Shinji Mimura was currently surrounded by eight girls, all but one in class 3-C. He was leaning coolly against the school wall as the group of girls flirted with him. It happened like this every morning, so Tuesday was no different. But still, there were some common subjects that you could revisit, even when they happened five days a week.</p>
<p>“How does he do that?” Shuya asked, eyeing Shinji from across the yard.</p>
<p>Shinji was currently being handed a bag of cookies from one girl and a small carton of milk from another, as a third girl put a hand on his shoulder while she whispered in his ear.</p>
<p>“Who knows?” Yoshitoki replied, watching in fascination as Shinji said something that made the whole group of girls break into laughter.</p>
<p>“They share him so well,” Hiroki said, watching the way the girls would smile at each other whenever Shinji paid them special attention.</p>
<p>“Can’t say there isn’t enough of The Third Man to go around,” Keita said, sounding more impressed than anything.</p>
<p>There were no further comments from the group as Shinji finally took a step forward and started saying his goodbyes. The girls looked disappointed, but they let him go, looking after him and giggling together.</p>
<p>Shinji looked perfectly smug when he joined his friends. “Sorry about that. It’s hard to get them to let go of me,” Shinji said, not sounding the least bit sorry.</p>
<p>“Oh, yeah, you looked like you were hating it,” Shuya teased, lightly punching his shoulder.</p>
<p>Shinji winked at Shuya. “It’s a lot of attention. Maybe someday you’ll understand.”</p>
<p>“You live for attention!” Keita was obviously trying to joke, or at least he was trying very hard to get some of Shinji’s attention. “You’d probably die if you didn’t have all those babes on you all the time, right?”</p>
<p>Shinji barely spared him a glance. There was very little Keita could say without irritating him.</p>
<p>“I don’t think he’d die, but he probably wouldn’t come to school so early,” Shuya joked, patting Shinji on the back good-naturedly.</p>
<p>“No, Keita’s right,” Yutaka said, sounding somber and serious. “It’s a scientific fact that if Shinji isn’t complimented every 20 minutes, he’ll die.”</p>
<p>The whole group laughed then, well, except for Shinji.</p>
<p>It wasn’t really a big deal. Sure, Yutaka, his best friend who he almost always sided with, had just agreed with Keita, who Shinji wished would take a hint and disappear, but it wasn’t a big deal.</p>
<p>Shinji was very mature, and things like that ran off his back like sweat during a basketball game.</p>
<p>It certainly didn’t bother him. Not one bit.</p>
<p>So, Yutaka thought he’d die without a compliment thrown his way every 20 minutes? That was cool. No biggie. It was completely fine that his best friend thought that about him.</p>
<p>It wasn’t true, but Shinji wasn’t so petty that he’d do anything about it. It wasn’t like he’d come up with some plot to teach Yutaka a lesson. He was too mature for that.</p>
<p>“Funny,” Shinji said, ruffling Yutaka’s hair a bit.</p>
<p>No, Shinji would never be so immature as to plan out something to show Yutaka the error of his ways.</p>
<p>But… If an opportunity were to come along, that would be a different story. He was an opportunist after all.</p>
<hr/>
<p>It was almost a week and a half later when opportunity struck, not that Shinji had been waiting on it.</p>
<p>Shinji had already finished his morning flirt session with the girls and had joined the rest of the neutral boys at their usual spot in the school-yard when Shuya asked about seeing a movie after school, once Hiroki finished Kenpo practice.</p>
<p>The whole group began agreeing as Yutaka pulled out his wallet.</p>
<p>“Shit, I don’t have any money. Can anyone lend me any?” Yutaka asked as he looked around the group.</p>
<p>Shuya and Nobu shook their heads, unsurprising given that they had to find odd jobs in town to make money.</p>
<p>Hiroki checked his wallet. “I’ve only got 1,500 yen, but you could have the extra.” But of course, that would still leave him around 1,000 yen short.</p>
<p>“Damn, sorry, man! I don’t have any extra. That sucks <em>so bad </em>that you won’t be able to come with us.” Keita did not actually sound like he thought it would suck <em>so bad</em>. In fact, he sounded a little excited. The kind of excited a guy got at the thought that maybe <em>he </em>could get the seat beside Shinji for once.</p>
<p>Yutaka looked to Shinji, his last hope, and Shinji was grinning like a shark.</p>
<p>Yutaka did not care for that.</p>
<p>“I do have extra money, but I’m not in a lending mood,” Shinji said. He then drew out the moment by taking out his own wallet and counting out enough extra yen for a movie ticket. “However, I could give you the opportunity to make the money.”</p>
<p>Oh, yeah, Yutaka definitely didn’t like that.</p>
<p>Usually, when Shinji offered money-making opportunities, they were for Keita. Like the time he had given Keita money to get a milkshake in exchange for him drinking an entire bottle of hot sauce first. Keita’s eyes had watered for, like, two hours and Yutaka figured he had to have shat fire later that night.</p>
<p>“What kind of opportunity?” Yutaka asked cautiously.</p>
<p>“Do you remember about a week and a half ago when you said if I didn’t get a compliment every 20 minutes, I’d die?” Shinji asked.</p>
<p>The tension that Yutaka hadn’t realized he had in his body released. It was replaced with a couple of feelings.</p>
<p>First was guilt as he realized that he’d hurt Shinji’s feelings. Shinji wouldn’t have brought it up otherwise.</p>
<p>The second was frustration because Shinji was seriously so bad at talking about his feelings. It was the one thing Yutaka could think of that he was better at.</p>
<p>Because, seriously, if Shinji had just told him a week and a half ago that his comment had hurt his feelings, Yutaka would have apologized. He wouldn’t even have pointed out that his comment was at least 95% accurate; he would have just said that he was sorry and that he didn’t mean it.</p>
<p>Instead, Shinji had held onto it for a week and a half and waited for the perfect moment to catch Yutaka with a lesson.</p>
<p>Yutaka wondered if Shinji knew that Yutaka knew that he did that.</p>
<p>Because that was always the method. Shinji never just said he was mad. Instead, he waited for opportunities to prove his points. Well, if he didn’t just stop talking to someone.</p>
<p>It was so fucking annoying.</p>
<p>But Yutaka <em>had</em> hurt his feelings. And even if what he said was true, he’d never wanted to do that. Shinji never went around hurting his.</p>
<p>So, he’d learn whatever lesson Shinji wanted him to learn, and that would be his apology.</p>
<p>He didn’t have much of a choice anyway. Even if he said no to whatever Shinji proposed, Shinji would just wait for the next opportunity, and by then he’d have had even more time to stew on it.</p>
<p>Better to take his lumps now.</p>
<p>“I do remember that,” Yutaka said, waiting to find out what Shinji had cooked up.</p>
<p>“Well, I thought about it a lot,” Shinji told him.</p>
<p>Yutaka wanted to say, ‘<em>No shit.</em>’ But given that Shinji was his best friend and was clearly trying to process his feelings, Yutaka withheld.</p>
<p>“And I decided that you’re right,” Shinji said with a shrug of his shoulders.</p>
<p>Yutaka’s right eyebrow rose. That wasn’t what he was expecting to hear.</p>
<p>“You did?” Yutaka asked skeptically.</p>
<p>The rest of their friend group was looking at Shinji just as skeptically.</p>
<p>“Yeah, I just thought about it and realized I do <em>really love</em> attention. I really <em>crave it.</em> If someone’s not complimenting me, it just really messes with me.” The sarcasm couldn’t have been much thicker in Shinji’s voice.</p>
<p>On the plus side, things made sense again.</p>
<p>“So, I figure I should just pay you to do it,” Shinji said simply.</p>
<p>Yutaka had to hold back an eye-roll. What even was the lesson there? Was there one, or was it just humiliation?</p>
<p>Fuck it, he complimented Shinji all the time anyway. If that was what Shinji wanted, he’d do a damn good job with it.</p>
<p>“State your terms,” Yutaka said, crossing his arms. It wasn’t often he took on a challenge from Shinji, but when he did, he brought his ‘A’ game. You kind of had to against Shinji.</p>
<p>Shinji grinned. “This is very easy money, Yutaka. So, the terms are simple,” Shinji moved so that they were standing face-to-face (well, as close to that as their height difference allowed), only a few centimeters apart. “Anything that comes out of your mouth today is about me and how great I am. I want you completely obsessed with me. It doesn’t matter if I’m there or not to hear it, you’re only thinking and talking about me. And no ignoring people to avoid saying anything; that’s cheating.”</p>
<p>“Okay, when specifically does this end?” Yutaka asked, his facial expression determined.</p>
<p>“We’re going to the movie once Hiroki gets out of practice. Make it until Hiroki’s done, and you get paid. Got it?” Shinji asked, waving the yen in his face.</p>
<p>Yutaka nodded, a grin on his face. “This really will be easy money; I could compliment you for hours.”</p>
<p>Shinji grinned, “Don’t worry, you will.”</p>
<p>Their friends looked at each other, unsure what to expect. All they knew was that the day was about to get more interesting.</p>
<hr/>
<p>The neutral boys were only outside for a few more minutes before the first bell had rung and they headed to their homeroom class with Mr. Hayashida.</p>
<p>During those few minutes Shinji had picked at Yutaka a little, but it hadn’t been anything he couldn’t handle. Shinji was all about taking things slow (unless a girl was involved, of course), after all, he had all day to show Yutaka how much the compliments meant nothing to him.</p>
<p>Because that was the plan. To have Yutaka compliment him all day and for Shinji to barely react. An easy lesson that would also embarrass Yutaka just the right amount.</p>
<p>At the moment, though, there was no embarrassment to be had. Dragonfly was trying to teach them math, and half of the kids in class had their eyes glazed over despite math being their first class of the day.</p>
<p>Mr. Hayashida finished writing a problem from their homework on the board and Shinji halfheartedly looked down at his paper, which he’d rushed through the night before. They’d been working on this type of problem for two days now. Shinji could do them in his sleep, but a lot of the class was still struggling.</p>
<p>“Okay, so here’s another problem from the homework,” Mr. Hayashida said as he pointed up at the board. “Hmm, Seto, can you tell me what you got for this one?”</p>
<p>Shinji perked up at Yutaka’s name and looked over to where the boy was sitting. Yutaka frowned.</p>
<p>On a normal day, Yutaka wouldn’t have been happy to be called on in math. It was his worst subject, and Shinji usually had to help him cram before exams.</p>
<p>But today Yutaka was probably unhappy for a different reason.</p>
<p>Yutaka looked over at Shinji and raised an eyebrow, silently asking, <em>‘Do I have to do this in front of Dragonfly?’</em></p>
<p>Shinji winked, silently answering, <em>‘You sure do, buddy. Have fun with it!’</em></p>
<p>“Seto?” Mr. Hayashida asked again.</p>
<p>“You know who’d be really great at answering this question?” Yutaka asked, abruptly facing Mr. Hayashida, a renewed energy about him. “Shinji. He’s <em>so </em>good at math. Probably the best in our class.”</p>
<p>A couple of kids laughed, and Shinji watched Motobuchi’s head snap around to look at Yutaka offendedly. Shinji only grinned as Dragonfly gave a light laugh. He was good about taking Yutaka’s jokes in stride.</p>
<p>Too bad this joke wouldn’t be over until the end of the day.</p>
<p>“That may be true,” Mr. Hayashida said, causing Motobuchi’s head to snap toward him, a disbelieving look on his face. “but I would really like to hear from you.”</p>
<p>Yutaka sighed, but he didn’t actually look put out. He knew where he was going to take this. Shinji watched in anticipation.</p>
<p>“Look, I can tell you that I think the answer is 27,” Yutaka said, putting his hand to his chest. “But Shinji would <em>know </em>if the answer is 27. He’s so smart, I bet he got every question right. Probably didn’t even have to try. He’s <em>that </em>good.”</p>
<p>Dragonfly seemed like he was putting two and two together. He looked over at Shinji, obviously seeking an explanation.</p>
<p>“The answer isn’t 27,” Shinji said, ignoring Dragonfly’s silent question in favor of the math one. “It’s 33. He didn’t carryover.”</p>
<p>Dragonfly didn’t get a chance to answer before Yutaka was back at it. He slammed his fist against his desk as though to stress what he was about to say. “This is what I’m talking about! Did you see how easy that was for him? This man,” Yutaka said while pointing at Shinji dramatically. “is an absolute genius. And we don’t talk about it enough.”</p>
<p>Dragonfly looked at a loss as kids continued to snicker. Shinji couldn’t help the grin that was on his face.</p>
<p>“Okay, uh, Motobuchi, why don’t you come up to the board and work the problem?” Mr. Hayashida had obviously decided that his best move was to take Shinji and Yutaka out of the equation. And he’d made a good choice in who to pick instead because Motobuchi looked like he had something to prove.</p>
<p>As Motobuchi worked the problem, Yutaka looked over at Shinji, a smug look on his face. But Shinji only grinned at him. This was only the beginning.</p>
<hr/>
<p>After class, Mr. Hayashida asked Yutaka to stay behind to talk to him. It wasn’t really a surprise given Dragonfly’s reputation for checking in with students who seemed off. Still, Yutaka had looked a little surprised by the request, and Shinji had taken delight in that as he took his time leaving the classroom. When he was the last one out, he left the door cracked open. He wanted to hear how Yutaka would get himself through the conversation.</p>
<p>“Seto, I just wanted to check in on you. Your behavior this morning was a little… odd,” Mr. Hayashida started. He was leaning against his desk casually, but his eyes were focused and caring. “Is everything okay?”</p>
<p>Yutaka briefly looked toward the door. He knew Shinji Mimura was standing behind it waiting to hear what he would say. Well, Yutaka could deliver.</p>
<p>“Everything’s great! I mean, Shinji’s here today, and any day I get to spend time with Shinji is a good one,” Yutaka said a little louder than he needed to.</p>
<p>Mr. Hayashida’s brow furrowed. “Do you and Mimura have some kind of bet going on?”</p>
<p>Yutaka scoffed. “As if I could ever win a bet against Shinji. Have you met him? He’s the best at <em>everything</em>,” Yutaka said. He was perhaps overplaying things, but that was okay. Tone was not part of their agreement. “He’s just presenting me with a money-making opportunity because he’s <em>so </em>generous.”</p>
<p>In the hallway, Shinji was laughing. Hearing their conversation was definitely going to be worth being late to his next class.</p>
<p>Mr. Hayashida nodded his head. “I believe I understand,” He then leaned closer to Yutaka, perhaps realizing that Shinji was listening on the other side of the door, and whispered, “And you don’t need any outside assistance?”</p>
<p>Yutaka grinned. “If I need any assistance, I know Shinji has me covered. He’s the best friend a guy could have,” Yutaka said, accidentally sounding genuine. Well, it wasn’t his fault. It was hard to sound like he was joking about something that was so true.</p>
<p>“All right, then I’ll see you tomorrow, Seto,” Mr. Hayashida said, as he wrote Yutaka a pass for his next class.</p>
<p>Once Yutaka had the pass, he waved goodbye before walking out of the room and finding a grinning Shinji just where he had expected him, leaning coolly against the wall next to the door, school things in his left hand.</p>
<p>“I hope that pleased you. You deserve the best,” Yutaka said with a cheeky grin.</p>
<p>“Oh, it pleased me very much,” Shinji said smugly as he stepped away from the wall. “Now hand me that pass so I can add my name to it.”</p>
<p>Yutaka did as he was told, and Shinji pulled a pen out of a spiral-bound notebook and added his name to the pass. Truthfully, their next teacher, Mrs. Kikuchi, probably wouldn’t even inspect it. She was a little too trusting.</p>
<p>“Perfect. Also, I’m feeling a little weak— lack of compliments, ya know? Would you mind telling me more about how I’m the smartest person you know?” Shinji asked pointedly as they walked toward their science class.</p>
<p>Yutaka laughed. “I’d love to. For starters you’re…”</p>
<p>Shinji grinned as he listened to Yutaka ramble on about his genius. Paying Yutaka for compliments had been an amazing idea. Yutaka was learning a lesson and Shinji… Well, Shinji had never said he <em>didn’t </em>like compliments. He was certainly enjoying the way they flowed openly from Yutaka’s mouth.</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0002"><h2>2. Chapter 2</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>Shinji and Yutaka's agreement wages on.</p>
          </blockquote><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>I'm really sorry this took a month! I honestly thought I'd write faster! But in my defense, this is actually a pretty long chapter (about 6k).<br/>Anyway, let me know what you think!<br/>Also, feel free to scream at me about Battle Royale on my <a href="https://pimpedoutgreenears.tumblr.com/">
Tumblr.</a><br/></p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>By the middle of second period, Shinji was bored and itching to mess with Yutaka more.</p>
<p>It wouldn’t be much of a lesson, after all, if he didn’t put effort into it. As they say, you get back what you put in. So, for maximum impact, Shinji would have to put in the work. He was willing to do that.</p>
<p>Yutaka didn’t sit very close to Shinji in class, which had always been a bummer. But luckily there were ways to talk to someone without speaking. It was as simple as passing a note.</p>
<p>Shinji wrote his note and handed it off to Yoshitoki who saw Yutaka’s name on it and passed it that way. Yoshitoki looked slightly interested in the note, but he didn’t say anything about it. He probably figured it was better to stay out of what was going on between Shinji and Yutaka.</p>
<p>Yutaka wasn’t surprised when the note landed on his desk. If there was one thing he knew about Shinji Mimura, it was that he didn’t half-ass anything. So, he’d known to expect something from him sooner rather than later. Frankly, he was happy it was just a note.</p>
<p>He opened it and read, ‘<em>It’s been almost 18 minutes. I think you know what I need.’</em></p>
<p>Yutaka held back a laugh before looking over at Shinji, who was already watching him, obviously waiting for a reaction. Yutaka nodded at him, and Shinji winked. Of course, he knew what Shinji needed.</p>
<p><em>‘It’d be easier to kiss your ass if you just bent over, but I guess I can make this work,’</em> Yutaka thought as he constructed his note. Then he laughed to himself, making a mental note to tell Shinji that joke once he’d won his money. He’d get a kick out of it.</p>
<p>Once he’d finished his note, he sent it back the way it’d come. He then watched for Shinji to get the note. When he did, he opened it and read quickly before looking over at Yutaka and grinning. He then began a reply.</p>
<p>They wrote messages back and forth for longer than they should have gotten away with it, which made it not that big of a surprise when the teacher grabbed the note as it was making its way back to Shinji.</p>
<p>“Seto, I believe this came from you?” Mrs. Kikuchi asked, despite obviously knowing that it had.</p>
<p>“Yes, sorry Mrs. Kikuchi. I just really missed Shinji,” Yutaka explained, trying to give her his best puppy dog eyes. Usually, he was pretty good at getting out of trouble in class. Despite speaking when he shouldn’t fairly regularly, he had a way of coming off sympathetically to teachers. No matter how often he got in trouble, he just <em>looked </em>so innocent. Not to mention, he was usually halfway decent at talking his way out of things. Well, at least when he wasn’t being paid to only talk about Shinji.</p>
<p>“You missed Mimura?” she asked in confusion as members of the class snickered.</p>
<p>“Yes, he’s just so cool! I wish I could talk to him every second of the day,” Yutaka said before sparing a glance over at Shinji. He looked like he was enjoying himself, if the smirk on his face meant anything.</p>
<p>Mrs. Kikuchi looked over to Shinji. “Do you have anything to add Mimura?”</p>
<p>“Just that I’m sorry, Mrs. Kikuchi,” Shinji apologized, sounding sincere. But the look he gave Yutaka told him not to buy it. “He’s been so clingy today. Yutaka, what’s up with that?”</p>
<p>Shinji couldn’t help pushing things. If Yutaka got into actual trouble, they could deal with it later. For now, he was learning a lesson.</p>
<p>Yutaka maintained a neutral face as people in the class laughed harder. Okay, Shinji wanted to embarrass him? Cool. He could outdo him anyway.</p>
<p>“I’m sorry, I just can’t stand being away from you! You’re the only one who <em>really </em>gets me. And school is so boring! And you’re so interesting! I could listen to you talk for hours! Will you talk to me for hours? Please?” Yutaka made sure to really play up his desperation. The only way to avoid the real embarrassment was to bring the embarrassment onto himself.</p>
<p>And it worked, because he was pretty pleased with himself when everyone started laughing. Even Shinji looked like he was having a hard time not bursting out into laughter. Their teacher on the other hand…</p>
<p>“Okay, that’s enough. Whatever this is needs to stop,” she said as she finally looked down at the note they’d been passing. Her face scrunched up as she read, “If cartoon bluebirds were real, a couple of them would be sitting on your shoulders singing right now.”</p>
<p>The class snickered but Yutaka only sat up straighter. “You don’t see it? You have to! You know, because he’s like one of those cartoon princesses? Just, so kind and generous and easy to love and—”</p>
<p>“I can see it! I can see Shinji with bluebirds on his shoulders!” Keita interrupted as he stood up in his chair. “He’s definitely all of that and more! He—"</p>
<p>“Enough! I don’t want to know,” Mrs. Kikuchi said, but as she turned to throw the note away, Yutaka could see her smile.</p>
<p>When Yutaka looked over at Shinji, he was smiling too, and somehow that only made Yutaka smile more.</p><hr/>
<p>“Why can’t you just give him the money?” Hiroki asked as he looked between Shinji and Yutaka.</p>
<p>Their arrangement had lasted almost half the day so far and showed no signs of stopping. Shinji was still embarrassing Yutaka or trying to get him to slip up every chance he got, and Yutaka was still complimenting him with every breath.</p>
<p>Their friends had mixed reactions on that, but their opinions had stopped mattering the second Yutaka had agreed to the deal.</p>
<p>“See, I would <em>love </em>to do that, but if I’m not appreciated every 20 minutes I’ll die,” Shinji said to Hiroki before looking over at Yutaka. “<em>You </em>appreciate me, don’t you, 'taka?” Shinji asked, a smug look on his handsome face.</p>
<p>“I appreciate you <em>so </em>much! You’re literally my favorite person in the entire world!” Yutaka said before looking over at Hiroki. “You shouldn’t worry, man. I love complimenting Shinji. This has been the best day ever. I want to compliment him like this every day!”</p>
<p>Shinji grinned, even as he tried to appear casual. “See? He loves this.”</p>
<p>“You know, since you love compliments so much, I could compliment you, too!” Keita suggested from his seat beside Yutaka, on the opposite side of Shinji.</p>
<p>Shinji gave Keita a disgusted look from over the top of Yutaka’s head. Not only did he not want that from Keita, but Keita’s assertion that he loved compliments irritated him.</p>
<p>“Yeah, no thanks,” Shinji said coldly.</p>
<p>Keita didn’t catch the tone, as usual, and instead kept pushing. “But I’ve got some great ones! Like, you’re a super sexy apple eater! Your canines are so sharp! They bite through that apple like it’s nothing!”</p>
<p>“…Do you have trouble chewing apples?” Hiroki asked as he looked around the table to gauge the weirdness level of the statement. Sometimes he wondered if he was the weird one.</p>
<p>Yoshitoki shook his head. Shuya bit into his apple before shrugging to show that he also didn’t have any trouble.</p>
<p>“No, but Shinji has a certain finesse about it! He never even gets apple juice all over his chin!” The ‘like I do’ wasn’t said but was implied.</p>
<p>“If he did, it’d be sexy. One of his many fans would come lick it off,” Yutaka assured as he licked a little juice off the skin of his own apple.</p>
<p>“You’d be first in line,” Shinji teased as he winked at him.</p>
<p>In response, Yutaka climbed up onto his knees in his seat and faced Shinji, getting close. “I’m already in line. Anything to be close to you!”</p>
<p>Shinji couldn’t help letting out a bark of laughter. Yutaka so close to his face was goofy, not to mention his offer to lick apple juice from his chin.</p>
<p>“Did this bet just turn sexual?” Shuya joked, laughing as well.</p>
<p>“If <em>only</em>,” Yutaka said before dropping back down in his seat and leaning his head against Shinji’s shoulder. “Oh, to have the honor of being a Shinji fangirl! They’re the only fangirls who make sense!”</p>
<p>“He knows you don’t have to fill out an application, right?” Yoshitoki asked quietly in between bites f his lunch.</p>
<p>“Then why did Shinji tell me I did? And that there was a processing fee and waitlist?” Keita asked him incredulously. “Obviously you just aren’t in the know,” Keita concluded. It wasn’t like Shinji would ever lie to him.</p>
<p>The other guys didn’t have the heart to tell him Shinji might have been joking.</p>
<p>“The point is that I <em>would</em> fill out an application! The wait to worship a man like this is worth it!” Yutaka explained, still lying against Shinji.</p>
<p>Shinji couldn’t help grinning as he ran a hand through Yutaka’s hair. “I’ll make sure to waive your application fee,” he teased as Keita elbowed Nobu and pointed at him.</p>
<p>Yutaka looked up at him and smiled. “You’re too generous. I don’t deserve it, no one does.”</p>
<p>“I think you do,” Shinji said softly before his features turned sharklike. “As long as you can keep this up all day.”</p>
<p>Yutaka didn’t falter, his smile remaining in place. “For you, I could keep this up all year. I’d never run out of good things to say about you.”</p>
<p>Shinji couldn’t help the heat that developed in his stomach then. The idea of that maybe didn’t sound half bad.</p><hr/>
<p>Right before lunch ended, Yutaka excused himself to go to the bathroom. Of course, excusing himself had involved telling Shinji how much he would miss him and how Shinji was so cool he wished they never had to separate. But that was old hack really. He needed to think of better material if he really wanted to impress Shinji, which was essentially what he was doing at this point.</p>
<p>Yutaka was actually surprised Shinji hadn’t come with him to the bathroom. It wouldn’t have surprised Yutaka for Shinji to want to hear compliments about his pissing ability. And Yutaka could have done it too. Probably so well Shinji would have laughed so hard that he got pee everywhere, which in hindsight might be why Shinji thought better of it.</p>
<p>Yutaka had just finished up when he walked into the empty hallway. Lunch was still going, so any noise in the hallway carried, which was how he could hear the sound of a few girls talking in the adjacent hallway.</p>
<p>“I-I don’t have a crush on him!”</p>
<p>“Izu, come on, it’s okay!”</p>
<p>“It’s just us—you can say it!”</p>
<p>Yutaka crept forward and listened. Usually, he wasn’t a very nosy person. He tended to mind his own business. But he could tell that one of the girls involved was Izumi Kanai, and Yutaka had had a crush on her since the year before. So, this information was pretty relevant to him, even if it’d been a while since he’d spoken to the girl in mention.</p>
<p>“No, really, I don’t!” Izumi said, sounding flustered.</p>
<p>“Is that why you blush every time you see him?” Yutaka recognized the voice as belonging to Yuka Nakagawa.</p>
<p>“I-I don’t blush every time!” Izumi stammered. “Do I?”</p>
<p>“You do,” a girl said quietly. It took a second, but Yutaka was pretty sure it was Chisato Matsui.</p>
<p>Izumi groaned weakly. “Do you think he notices?” she asked.</p>
<p>Yutaka was racking his brain, but he really couldn’t remember Kanai blushing in front of him. Really, he wasn’t sure when he’d talked to her last and hadn’t just seen her.</p>
<p>“Girl, I think he notices <em>and </em>is into it,” Yuka said confidently.</p>
<p>“You-You really think so?” Izumi said, sounding hopeful. “But there’s no way someone like him would like me!”</p>
<p>“What are you talking about? You’re so great,” Chisato said in the loudest voice Yutaka thought he’d ever heard her use, which still wasn’t super loud.</p>
<p>“Seriously, where is your confidence at? That boy is so lucky you notice him!” Yuka said.</p>
<p>“I-I don’t know…” Izumi said lowly.</p>
<p>“Can we at least hear you say that you like him?” Chisato asked gently.</p>
<p>“I-I do. I do like him,” Izumi admitted, sounding embarrassed.</p>
<p>“Say his name, Izu, you can do it,” Yuka encouraged her.</p>
<p>“Yeah, say you like him,” Chisato added.</p>
<p>Yutaka waited, but he had a feeling he wasn’t about to hear his name and prepared for the impact.</p>
<p>“Okay,” Izumi said before taking and then letting out a large breath. “I like Numai.”</p>
<p>Yutaka found himself more surprised than anything. Numai? Mitsuru Numai, really? That dude was scary.</p>
<p>“Yes, yes you do!” Chisato cheered.</p>
<p>“Now say it with feeling!” Yutaka demanded.</p>
<p>“I-I like Numai. I really, really like Numai!” Izumi said, sounding more sure of herself.</p>
<p>Yutaka turned to head back toward lunch even as the girls kept talking. Kanai like Numai, huh? It was weird to think about.</p>
<p>But… It was kind of weirder that that was Yutaka’s main emotion about it. He was pretty sure he should be heartbroken right now, but he just wasn’t. Like, it was a little sad, but not devastating. He guessed it had been a while since he’d spent any real-time around her.</p>
<p>He was still thinking about it and wondering where his feelings had gone when he entered the lunchroom again and made it back to his table. Everyone was where they’d been left, other than Keita who’d taken his seat and looked to be laughing especially hard at something Shinji said.</p>
<p>Shinji noticed him approach and grinned. “Aw, there’s my boy, thought you were skipping out,” Shinji said as he motioned Keita wordlessly out of his seat.</p>
<p>Keita looked like he wanted to argue, but he moved back down. “You know, we really should change up our seating arrangement one day, just for funsies?” Keita suggested looking around the table for support.</p>
<p>Nobu shrugged. “I’ll switch seats with you if you want.”</p>
<p>Keita only scoffed, his seat being no closer to Shinji than his own.</p>
<p>“I’d never skip out on you! But distance makes the heart grow fonder, and my heart is very fond of you,” Yutaka joked as he put a hand over his heart and looked at Shinji in the most adoring way that he could.</p>
<p>Shinji didn’t get a chance to actually respond since the bell rang, but he threw an arm around Yutaka’s shoulders when they got up to walk to gym, a smile on his face.</p>
<p>Yutaka figured that it was better to focus on Shinji’s forgiveness lesson than on his weird lack of Kanai related feelings anyway.</p><hr/>
<p>Shinji Mimura walked into the gym locker room with a shark-like grin on his face. He was going to torment the hell out of Yutaka. In a friendly way, of course!</p>
<p>If he was honest with himself, this had turned away from being a lesson to being a fun game. He loved the idea of Yutaka complimenting him throughout gym class. There was an excitement about it that he couldn’t quite place, something that sent heat creeping into his stomach. But he ignored it.</p>
<p>It was easy with how extra Yutaka was being.</p>
<p>“Holy shit!” Yutaka said before letting out a loud wolf whistle. “Look at this fucking guy! This perfect specimen! <em>Damn!</em>” Yutaka yelled dramatically before plopping down to straddle a bench while Shinji took his shirt off.</p>
<p>Shinji preened under the attention, flexing his abs just a little. He felt proud to have Yutaka’s attention on him.</p>
<p>“Okay, what the hell is going on today?” Hatagami asked, halting the changing of his own shirt. It seemed other groups were becoming aware that something was up.</p>
<p>“It’s a long story, man,” Shuya said, sounding amused as he continued changing into his gym clothes.</p>
<p>“Is it? Sounds like Seto is gay. That’s a pretty short story,” Niida said with a grin that showcased how funny he thought he was.</p>
<p>“And it’s not even short just because Seto is involved,” Kuramoto added before high-fiving Niida as they snickered together.</p>
<p>Shinji was about to make a comment about their dicks being short, in the most casual way possible, when Yutaka chimed in, “Is it gay if we’re all thinking it? I mean, <em>look </em>at him! Fuck. We all wish that was us.”</p>
<p>Shinji grinned. As long as the comments didn’t deter Yutaka, all was well. No need to remind the other guys of how small their dicks were.</p>
<p>“They have a bet going,” Yoshitoki said casually as he changed his clothes. As usual, he was staying pretty mellow about the whole thing. “It should be over by the end of the day.”</p>
<p>“Should be?!” Keita yelled, causing everyone to stare. “I mean… It probably won’t even last that long, right? If Yutaka talks about something besides Shinji, it’s over!” Keita turned to Yutaka, practically jumping with energy. “Tell us about aliens, man! Didn’t you just see a new documentary or something?”</p>
<p>Yutaka had in fact watched a new documentary the night before. Some might have actually called it a mockumentary, but Yutaka thought there had been some pretty reasonable theories in it. But his excitement about aliens couldn’t deter him from his ultimate goal.</p>
<p>Although later…</p>
<p>“I did, but the aliens are nowhere near as interesting as Shinji,” Yutaka said before his smile turned mischievous. He was about to be <em>a lot</em>. “Or as hot! I mean, dat ass tho!” Yutaka said as he lied down on the locker room bench. He had yet to begin changing. “I’m just going to lie here and stare at it while you change. Do you mind angling it toward me? I want a full view of the world’s most perfect ass.”</p>
<p>It dawned on Shinji then, that maybe he did really like compliments, because he angled his butt toward Yutaka without a thought, other than he was eager to hear more of them.</p>
<p>“Of course. Can’t turn down a fan,” Shinji said before winking at Yutaka from over his shoulder.</p>
<p>“Yeah, I’m out of here,” Hatagami said before leading his friends out of the locker room behind some other guys.</p>
<p>A snickering Ryuhei Sasagawa wasn’t far behind them. “Zuki is gon be so pissed tha' he skipped today!” he laughed to his friends.</p>
<p>“You know, Shinji, I think your ass is great too!” Keita announced from the other side of the locker room bench. “Like, this one time I dreamed I was playing your butt cheeks like bongo drums. Except I don’t know how to play bongo drums, so I was really just kind of slapping them to the beat of this pop song, Take a Hint-“</p>
<p>“I wish you’d take a hint,” Shinji muttered under his breath.</p>
<p>“Maybe we should get out there, guys?” Shuya suggested, having already finished changing. “I get to be a team captain against Niida today!” He sounded excited about the chance to lead a team.</p>
<p>“Are you saying you’re going to pick me to be on your team first?!” Keita asked excitedly, quickly switching gears and following Shuya.</p>
<p>“Well, I don’t know about first,” Shuya teased him.</p>
<p>“Second?!” Keita almost demanded as they walked out into the gym.</p>
<p>“Shuya might be too nice to be team captain,” Hiroki observed as he followed them.</p>
<p>“I try to tell him that every time,” Yoshitoki agreed, leaving the locker room behind him.</p>
<p>Suddenly it was just Shinji and Yutaka in the locker room.</p>
<p>“You know, you should probably start changing,” Shinji said, voice low.</p>
<p>“I would, but I don’t want to miss any part of the show,” Yutaka said, his eyes very obviously going up and down Shinji’s body.</p>
<p>If he wanted Shinji to be uncomfortable, he wasn’t succeeding. Shinji was basking in the attention.</p>
<p>“Yeah, you want to give this ass a slap?” Shinji challenged, knowing Yutaka would have to go with it to get the money he wanted.</p>
<p>Yutaka was almost embarrassed for a second, but then he grinned before asking, “Is that an offer? Because you know I want to.”</p>
<p>“Oh, it’s definitely an offer,” Shinji said, eyes on Yutaka like he was daring him to do it.</p>
<p>Yutaka wasn’t one to back down from a dare, at least not under these circumstances. So he quickly sat up on the bench and reached over to give Shinji’s butt a slap.</p>
<p>“Oh, baby,” Shinji said teasingly while still grinning over his shoulder at Yutaka.</p>
<p>“Now that’s a firm ass,” Yutaka said, a little embarrassed but not enough to let it stop him.</p>
<p>“Yeah, you liked that?” Shinji goaded him. “What else do you see that you like?” he asked as he turned around, leaving Yutaka sitting on the bench at eye level with his abs. They were closer than strictly necessary.</p>
<p>“Those are some pretty nice washboard abs. Ten out ten, would wash my clothes on them,” Yutaka said as he looked up at Shinji, refusing to give in. It wasn’t like that was a lie anyway.</p>
<p>“Yeah? Bet you want to touch those too, then,” Shinji said as he moved just a little closer. He couldn’t help himself. Between Yutaka’s attention and his embarrassment, Shinji was euphoric.</p>
<p>“Of course, I do. I want—”</p>
<p>Shinji, unfortunately, didn’t get to find out what Yutaka wanted, as their gym teacher walked in.</p>
<p>“Mimura, Seto, what are you doing? Your class is waiting on you!” he informed them gruffly. His eyes went to Yutaka who was still sitting in his school coat. “Seto, have you moved at all?”</p>
<p>“Uh, sorry sir, I got distracted by Shinji’s perfect body!” Yutaka said as he stood up quicker than he’d ever done before and started to strip.</p>
<p>The gym teacher looked ready to get mad, but Shinji stepped in, not wanting Yutaka to get in any real trouble. “We were talking health regimens, sir. He wanted to know where to start with working out.”</p>
<p>The gym teacher seemed to consider Shinji, then grunted in reply. “I suppose he could use it,” he said as he spared Yutaka’s bony torso a look as he changed his shirt. “Just hurry up and get out here.”</p>
<p>He then turned to leave. Shinji rolled his eyes at the retreating man. His gut was a little too big to be commenting on what Yutaka could use. Yutaka’s body was just fine. Nice, even.</p>
<p>“Thanks for the save there. You really are the best person I know,” Yutaka said, taking Shinji away from his thoughts on his best friend's body.</p>
<p>Shinji shrugged as he turned toward his now clothed best friend as he pulled on his own shirt. “Like I’d let that asshole take out his anger on you. Even if we do have an arrangement going,” Shinji said before patting Yutaka’s back.</p>
<p>“You’re so honorable,” Yutaka said, looking up at him fondly.</p>
<p>“Come on, let’s get out there. I want to hear you cheer for me better than any of my fangirls,” Shinji said before leading the way to the locker room door, then opening it for Yutaka.</p>
<p>“Shouldn’t be an issue since I’m by far your biggest fan,” Yutaka said with a mischievous grin before slapping Shinji’s ass again and then running out of the locker room laughing.</p>
<p>Shinji followed him, laughing as well.</p><hr/>
<p>After finishing gym class, Shinji took his shower then hurried to the spot where he knew the girls would be gathering. Despite the girl’s locker rooms also having showers, they were rarely used outside of actual sports practices or events. Shinji had never really given it a lot of thought as to why the girls didn’t shower after gym (other than thinking it was a shame they didn't wash each other's backs), and at the moment he was just grateful because Yukie Utsumi was standing casually against the wall with some of her friends.</p>
<p>Shinji approached the group of girls confidently and was met with a mixed range of expressions, varying from shy smile (Matsui) to suspicious stare (Noda). The class rep herself just looked curious.</p>
<p>“How’s it going?” Shinji asked the group coolly, although his focus was obviously on Utsumi.</p>
<p>“Pretty good,” Utsumi answered for them, a small smile on her face as though she suspected he was going to say something funny. She wasn’t necessarily wrong. He thought what he had planned would be hilarious. “You?”</p>
<p>“Can’t lie; my day has been pretty great,” Shinji said casually. “But I need a little help with something. Do you have a minute to talk, Rep?”</p>
<p>The group of girls was staring, and Shinji understood why. Usually, when he asked a girl to leave her group of friends it was not to have a friendly chit-chat. But this was totally different. He needed to make a business deal.</p>
<p>“I do have a minute to <em>talk</em>,” Utsumi emphasized her words clearly, although she looked amused, like she knew Shinji wasn’t actually trying to hit on her. “Anything else and suddenly I’m very busy.”</p>
<p>“You wound me, Rep,” Shinji said before winking at her. “Let’s walk, yeah?”</p>
<p>Tanizawa cocked an eyebrow. “Do you want me to walk with you?” she asked Utsumi.</p>
<p>Utsumi shook her head. She also sent the rest of her girls a reassuring smile. “I’m sure it’ll be quick.”</p>
<p><em>That’s how you’ll know we didn’t do anything</em>, Shinji thought but didn’t say. Instead, he grinned at the other girls. “No worries, ladies, I promise I’m here for business, not pleasure. And I never mix the two.” He then winked again for good measure.</p>
<p>Surprisingly, that didn’t change any of their facial expressions, but Shinji supposed he should expect that. He was Shiroiwa's resident playboy, after all. And while that made him cool as hell, it did also make the more proper girls weary of his general existence.</p>
<p>Utsumi, thankfully, laughed and began walking down the hall with him. They walked a little way before she finally spoke.</p>
<p>“So, does your business have to do with the bet you have going with Seto?” Utsumi asked, cutting straight to the chase.</p>
<p>“Bingo,” Shinji nodded, although he didn’t really consider it a bet, per say. “I just need you and a couple of friends to ask him some questions for me. I’m thinking you, Matsui, and Nakagawa, either one, would do. No offense to your other friends, but they don’t seem right for the mission.” Shinji wanted to be sure he specified which girls he wanted involved. Well, more accurately, he wanted to make sure Kanai wasn’t one of them. He’d never embarrass Yutaka in front of her, no matter what stupid, untrue thing Yutaka said about him.</p>
<p>“Hmm, so you want us to help you torment Seto, despite him never having done anything to any of us?” Utsumi asked with an eyebrow raised. </p>
<p>“All in good fun,” Shinji assured her, putting his hands up in surrender even as they kept walking. “I’m just proving a point to him.”</p>
<p>“And what is that point?” Utsumi asked.</p>
<p>Shinji grinned. “Unimportant. What is important is what I can offer you in return.”</p>
<p>“I’m afraid of where this is going,” Utsumi joked.</p>
<p>“No worries, Rep, I know what you like,” Shinji said. And he did in fact know what she liked or at least <em>who</em>. “You and the other girls like watching our pickup games after school, right?”</p>
<p>“Of course, we’re all avid sports fans,” Yukie answered easily, a playfully wry smile on her face that made the truth clear. That being, they were fans, just not of the basketball games.</p>
<p>“Of course,” Shinji agreed, returning the smile. They were on the same page. “And I was thinking of ways that could enhance the viewing experience for you, loyal sports fans.”</p>
<p>“I’m listening.”</p>
<p>“Well, without jerseys it’s probably <em>really difficult </em>for the fans watching to tell who’s on what team. So, I was thinking that we should start playing shirts versus skins. What do you think?” Shinji asked casually, even though his smile was anything but. They both knew their discussion had nothing to do with making the games easier to follow.</p>
<p>“Hm, that might enhance the viewing experience,” Yukie agreed, tone casual like Shinji wasn’t trying to trade her topless viewing privileges of the boys in their grade.</p>
<p>“I was thinking we’d make Shuya’s team permanent skins. Figure they could use the extra… aerodynamics. They are playing against me, after all,” Shinji said before winking at her. He figured it wouldn’t be that hard to get Shuya to agree to the arrangement. Hell, he might even be able to tell him the truth as to why. Shinji figured he’d like being the eye candy for a change. It had to get frustrating always getting outshined by Shinji.</p>
<p>For a second Yukie looked conflicted, but then she seemed to settle whatever she was thinking about. “That’s kind of you, but I think it’s important to keep the integrity of the sport intact. So, we need to keep things as fair as possible,” she explained.</p>
<p>For a second Shinji was nervous that he’d misjudged the class representative and that she wasn’t the kind of girl who would make deals to see boys half-naked. But then she continued.</p>
<p>“I think it’d be better if the teams rotated who played as skins. That way no one gets an unfair advantage due to aerodynamics,” she said.</p>
<p>Shinji grinned as he realized what her conflict had been. He knew <em>she </em>wanted to see Shuya shirtless, but obviously, some of her crew preferred what he had to offer (technically, he supposed they could prefer someone else who played on his team, but none of them were nearly as attractive as he was). “You really are a diplomat, Rep. Always making sure everyone gets what they deserve.”</p>
<p>“That’s why I was elected,” Yukie said casually as she shrugged. But then she gave him a small smirk and whispered, “That said, Nanahara’s team can play skins first.”</p>
<p>“Well, that’s only fair,” Shinji agreed, a lewd smile on his face. He knew he liked the class rep for a reason.</p>
<p>“Then I suppose we have a deal,” she said before sticking out her hand for him to shake.</p>
<p>“Fantastic,” he said as he shook her hand. “I only need you to say a couple of things to Yutaka. Do you want me to write them down?”</p>
<p>“No, I’m sure I can remember. I know what’s at stake if I don’t,” she joked.</p>
<p>So, Shinji told her what needed to be said and then walked away to rejoin his friends. He couldn’t wait for free period.</p><hr/>
<p>Free period was kind of a joke. The intent of it was for the students to sit quietly in their assigned seats and work on their homework. However, since the start of the year it’d rarely been used for that.</p>
<p>The students and teacher had an understanding worked out, though. For their part, the kids would sit in their assigned seats long enough for him to take their attendance and then after wouldn’t set anything on fire or disturb him while he read his novel. In return, he’d let them move around the room and talk as they pleased. A pretty fair trade, really.</p>
<p>So, when the class had started, Yutaka had taken his assigned seat so that he could wait the predetermined five minutes before moving to sit by his friends.</p>
<p>However, when the five minute mark hit, he didn’t make it out of his seat before he was being approached by Utsumi, Matsui, and Yuka Nakagawa. His brow furrowed before he looked over to where Shinji was sitting. The Third Man winked at him, signaling that, yes, whatever was about to happen was in fact his doing.</p>
<p>“Hi, Seto,” Utsumi said conversationally as the other girls flanked her. “How are you?”</p>
<p>“Well, I’m about to go sit with Shinji, so I’m great! I’ve been separated from his greatness for too long, now,” Yutaka said, despite having talked to Shinji approximately six minutes earlier.</p>
<p>“Oh, that does sound wonderful,” Yukie said, her amused tone only adding to Yutaka’s curiosity. “We actually came over here because of Mimura.” Beside her, Nakagawa looked like she was holding back a laugh, while Matsui looked embarrassed.</p>
<p>That wasn’t a great mix.</p>
<p>“Aww, did Shinji send you over? He’s always so thoughtful, so I’m sure it’s for a great reason,” Yutaka said, hoping that his sarcasm showed through his words.</p>
<p>At that, Nakagawa finally did let out a laugh, and Yukie looked over to her and gave her a knowing look. “You said you could handle this,” Yukie chastised.</p>
<p>“Oh, I’m going to handle it,” Nakagawa said before smiling at Yutaka. “I can’t miss this.”</p>
<p>“Anyway, Seto, we actually just had a question about Mimura,” Yukie said, sounding completely composed.</p>
<p>“Ask away! Shinji is my favorite topic of conversation,” Yutaka said cheerfully. How bad could a question be?</p>
<p>“That’s great!” Yukie said clapping her hands together. “We were just wondering what Mimura looks like in the locker room?”</p>
<p>Yutaka’s eyes widened. Sure, he’d talked about Shinji in front of the guys in gym, but there was something different about talking about that in front of the girls.</p>
<p>He looked over at Shinji again, and his best friend had a huge smile on his face like he was daring Yutaka to go through with it. Yutaka smiled back. He wasn’t going to back down.</p>
<p>He turned to the girls again, who were waiting for his reaction. Well, he’d give them a show he guessed.</p>
<p>“Oh, wow, where do I start; Shinji’s just so perfect in <em>every</em> way,” Yutaka said, tone extra cheerful. “You’ve probably seen his arms and how muscular they are, right? His abs are just as good. Maybe better, it’s so hard to tell when all of Shinji is the human ideal. He’s just physically perfect. I think all of us stare because we wish we could look like that. But that’s just how he looks, what’s really great is how he carries himself. Like, he’s so confident. It’s like he owns the locker room. He just walks around with no clothes on and <em>everything</em> on display. Most guys cover themselves up for a towel or something but not Shinji. He knows what he is packing down there is good. Do you girls want to hear about his downstairs? Because I’d <em>love </em>to talk to you about it.”</p>
<p>Nakagawa was laughing so hard the tears were rolling down her face, while Matsui was the color of a tomato. Only Utsumi looked close to unphased, although a small smile played on her lips.</p>
<p>“I think we’ve heard all we need to hear,” Utsumi said, almost sounding apologetic.</p>
<p>“I would like to hear more,” Matsui said almost inaudibly.</p>
<p>Utsumi grabbed her shoulder as she smiled at Yutaka. “Thank you for humoring us.”</p>
<p>“Oh, anytime if Shinji’s the subject matter!” Yutaka said casually.</p>
<p>Utsumi then turned to leave, pulling the other girls with her.</p>
<p>With that, Yutaka finally got up and walked over to Shinji who was laughing harder than Yutaka had seen him laugh in a long time.</p>
<p>He sat down beside him. “You have a gorgeous laugh, you know,” Yutaka said as he watched Shinji. It was true. Shinji looked good when he laughed, like he didn’t have a care in the world.</p>
<p>“Oh, man, that was perfect. You were really going to tell those girls about my junk,” Shinji said once his laughing had calmed down.</p>
<p>“Of course, I’d spread the word about your impressive downstairs. Why wouldn’t I? It’s what someone as great as you deserves,” Yutaka said cheekily, proud that he’d made it through Shinji’s challenge.</p>
<p>Shinji grinned at him. “You know, you’re really good at this,” he said softly.</p>
<p>Yutaka shrugged. “I told you I could compliment you forever,” he said just as softly, and he sounded like he meant it.</p>
<p>As the rest of their friends came over to join them, Shinji found himself thinking that he might not mind that.</p>
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